Chris Brogden wrote, regarding possible options for lifesaving procedures:
> Seems to me that with all our current technology we should be able to
> come up with some methods that may save lives in the future. How
> about a helicopter carrying a long cable with a large cage attached to
it?...
> [A]n inflatable helium air bag.... [E]mergency parachutes....
All good ideas, Chris. I remember something even more low-tech (read that
"fool-proof and robust") that I did as sort of a game at a summer camp I
went to as a child. We had a cable stretched taut from the roof of one of
the buildings at the camp -- maybe the third floor? We then had a bracket
that went over the cable, and we held onto both ends of the bracket as we
slid down. I seem to remember that the Space Shuttle astronauts have some
sort of escape device like this, to be used in case of a launchpad fire.
Periodic testing of this escape device is apparently dangerous. I guess in
the assessment of any device envisioned for escape from skyscrapers, one
would have to weigh the benefits of quicker evacuation speed (vs. stairs)
against the risk of a deadly fall from hundreds of feet above the ground.
Perhaps some small part of the tens of billions that will be spent in the
aftermath of this week's events might be earmarked for exactly this kind of
engineering research. I hope there are lots of scientists and engineers at
NIST, NASA, etc. who are thinking creatively about solutions of the kind you
discuss.
An on a related note, I just realized yesterday how strange it is not to see
aircraft in the skies around my town -- yet. It was a welcome sight to see
three military helicopters flying in formation over Kodak Park this
afternoon. Hopefully the commercial aircraft will be up there again soon
too.
Bill Peifer
Rochester, NY
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